h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For those of you who have wondered about my posts that seem to flit about and make connections that no-one else has, this could be because I am on the autistic spectrum or suffer from ADHD.

I have never had an official assessment, so it is only my opinion, based on doing assessments by others and personal analysis of my peculiar habits (collect-aholic, asocial not anti-social, a certain clumsiness, a tendency to literalness and puns as humour).

Your "peculiar habits"sound a lot like mine. I've suspected that a great-uncle was on the spectrum somewhere. I have a nephew who definitely is. But life is good. These are good people who are a credit to the planet, and I expect that you are, too. Celebrate your many good qualities, and stay the way you are.

brains are designed... or rather evolved to make... perhaps create connections... the more implausible, or tangectual they are, I'd warrant, the more useful they are... thinking... or in this case, connecting, out of the box, to steal a horrible phrase creativity that way ensues... or at least is more likely, I reckon... samey is boring, afterall... sanity is also wildly overrated...

Wildness is sanely overratted.

Overrating is wildly sane.

how true... Rats are rarely overrated... They could probably tell us all a thing or two, or perhaps even three, about... well, all those things of particular importance to rats I guess

Well, all rats eat grains. Many enjoy fruits and vegetables. They'll eat smaller animals, though this requires hunting, which would not be their first choice of food procurement.

They like to sleep in hay, shredded paper, cotton balls, etc.

They like being stroked along the top of the head or back. But not the tummy or whiskers.

They like to grind heir teeth

They like the company of other rats

...they go totally bonkers if given a whole frankfurter for themselves... ...rat heaven...

On many levels they're admirable animals.

They take good care of their young. They have standards where food is concerned: they won't eat it if it is spoiled. They're apparently sensible enough to leave a sinking ship. The fact that so many scientists use them in labs says something about their intelligence and similarity to us.

So it's not just white mice then?

Different animals are useful for different kinds of tudies

http://theconversation.com/animals-in-research-rats-16634

http://www.yourgenome.org/facts/why-use-the-mouse-in-research

Rodents and humans share about 80% of their DNA. Mice are more valuable in research that makes use of transgenics. Mice cost less, for scientists who have to make budgetary decisions. But rats are smarter; cognitive disorders such as Alzheimers probably need the extra rat brainpower.

The bunnies have been eating my beans lately. Would that I could send them to some lab.

I go quite bonkers too, on being given a whole frankfurter... or two... or three... I feel quite close to rats on some levels, well, they're more inteligent than half the homo sapians round near where I live

Hey, I grind my teeth - does that make me a rat or just as clever as one? I also don't like my tummy being stroked or my whiskers but then I don't like light touch at all because of hypersensitivity issues (I don't like being thumped or kicked either as my (un)nice niece found out - actually she has this habit of stamping on people's feet for fun, so I pushed her over last time she tried and next time I visit my brother I will be wearing steel toe capped shoes or my Bovver boots (more correctly described as, am I Bovvered, boots?))

The bunnies have stopped bothering my beans, thanks to a homemade rabbit repellent .